Instant Census Blog

Apparel Shopping Is A Mixed Mode Experience

Shopping for clothing isn’t just a seasonal activity for Americans, it happens year round (I should know). Clothing retailers give Americans a variety of reasons to purchase new clothes: the change of seasons, growth spurts, and new fashion trends… just to name a few. In fact, Nielsen Channel Tracking reports roughly 70% of Americans have made a clothing purchase in the past 6 months. In order to meet this constant demand, clothing retailers are always changing the way they sell apparel to consumers, which is affecting the way Americans prefer to shop.

With the rise of digital and mobile devices, retailers need to ensure consumers can interact with them on these mediums. While 82% of consumers who purchased clothes in the past 6 months did so in store, online and mobile is on the rise.

Nielsen reports,

41% have bought clothes online in the last six months

Roughly 12% made a mobile apparel purchase

Nielsen goes on to predict,

Online sales growth of 12.2% between 2015 and 2020

Many consumers also go online before making an in-store purchase to perform research on products and peruse the selection. 52% of shoppers said they “shopped around” prior to making a purchase. Of these shoppers,

60% shopped around online

Roughly 7% shopped around via mobile

For those who shopped via mobile, about 63% perused selections before making a purchase. Of these shoppers,

41% shopped around via online

29% shopped around in-store

With consumers using mixed modes to make purchases, it’s necessary for retailers to accommodate these behaviors.